‘Anwar not making sense’

Questions have popped up following Anwar Ibrahim's responses during a live chat 'Borak Bersama Anwar' on Google Hangout on Friday.

KOTA KINABALU: What is the point of putting in place policies to check political saboteurs from within the Barisan Nasional “defectors”?

Why is PKR vis-à-vis Pakatan Rakyat even entertaining these defectors who have a history of being Trojan horses?

How can these defecting leaders who are the very reason Sabah politics is in its current state be Pakatan’s solution to wresting Putrajaya in the 13th general election?

“It makes no sense… how can the problem [of defectors] be the solution for Sabah ” was the immediate response of a political analyst in reaction to Anwar Ibrahim’s live chat on “Borak Bersama Anwar” [Chat with Anwar ] on Google Hangout on Friday night.

During the interview, Anwar attempted to allay prevailing fears that his strategy of accepting Umno-BN defectors would make Pakatan vis-à-vis PKR no different from Umno-BN when it wrests Putrajaya.

He said: “To me, whether you are ex-Umno, ex-NGO, ex-MCA… it is immaterial.

“You must come in to accept a new culture in our political life, you must accept the new agenda… You must accept the Buku Jingga.

“These are clear policies which require transparency, a very powerful anti-corruption commission and independent judiciary.

“With these institutions in place, I frankly do not worry about individuals who may have the pension and venture to embark on policies that would be deemed to be dangerous or would sabotage the reform programme.”

(The value of the recent defections of Barisan Nasional MPs Lajim Ukin [Beaufort], Wilfred Bumburing [Tuaran] and former Upko senator Majpol Majpai has been hotly debated and has put under scrutiny PKR, DAP and PAS’ stand on party-hopping. DAP and PAS have in the past said that they would not sanction such defections.)

Meanwhile, the analyst, who declined to be named, was unimpressed by Anwar’s responses and asked exactly what “new culture” Anwar was talking about.

‘I assume he is referring to the defections… that’s how Umno brought down PBS in 1984 and Perak after 2008.

“He [Anwar] thinks Sabahans are stupid… reform had a meaning in 1999, now it’s just Putrajaya by any means… he’s admitted it.

‘He said Umno had severely embarrassed… he wants vengeance… it’s not reform or Sabah rights” the analyst said.

History retold

Sabahans, the analyst said, remembered the role Anwar played in the 1980s and 1990s in “destroying” Sabah.

He said while the history books may not have recorded the political subterfuge that eventually saw Sabah’s Christian population being nuetralised and its leadership ousted, the scar was deep and “twisted-tongue Anwar must not be trusted”.

He believed that Anwar backed by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad – who authored the once banned book Malay Dilemma and who coined Ketuanan Melayu – was responsible for PBS’s downfall in 1994 and the mass legalising of Muslim immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia.

According to the analyst, Mahathir was extremely sore with his then deputy Musa Hitam for sanctioning Joseph Pairin Kitingan’s ascent as chief minister after PBS was democratically elected in 1984.

The strategy to bring down PBS and neutralise the majority Christians electorate began at that point.

“Anwar worked on the local Muslim leaders… Lajim was one of them. He defected with his group and convinced others to do the same.

“In the end, PBS fell because of these traitors… what kind of policies can you put in place to deal with perpetual traitors like Lajim and Bumburing?

“PKR is an Umno-BN clone… the bulk of members and leaders are ex-Umno… what new culture, new agenda is he [Anwar] talking about?” he asked.

The past months have seen rumours and reports of defections. Last week, both Lajim and Majpol claimed that BN would lose more defectors to Pakatan after the Hari Raya celebrations.

But BN sources claim that this may not happen now that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has announced a time frame for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the exponential population growth of legalised illegals in Sabah.

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